Demonstration Approaching!

Welcome to the second briefing which updates on the discussions and developments made through the Summer recess. By way of a reminder, two sets of demonstrations are planned over the duration of the project, the first being the “Interim Demonstration” and the second being a “full demonstration” towards the end of the project.

The interim demonstration event is fixed to run in Ankara over 5 days starting on Monday 28 November. With the Horizon Europe CL3 deadline the preceding week, we hope that this will present a welcome opportunity to get away from the office and to truly learn what TeamAware is all about. A place-holder appointment you’ve already received will shortly be updated with more details.

The purpose of this briefing is to update on the arrangements and to update you on the work currently underway.

Background

Much of the underpinning methodology for the demonstrations has been delivered through Deliverable 2.4 (Scenarios for System Validation) which has helpfully agreed scenarios, research questions and evaluation criteria.

The scenarios for the interim demonstrations are a sub-set of the broader ones agreed: Natural Disaster (Earthquake & Explosion in Bursa) and a Human-Made Disaster (Terrorist Attack in Bucharest). Each solution provider has being consulted on which aspects of each scenario will be best to demonstrate their product / system.

How will the demonstrations be organised?

The mid-term demonstrations will be a 5 day event held in Ankara, Turkey from Monday 28/11/2022 until Friday 02/12/2022.

The format of the demonstrations will be desktop / testbed based but we’re also planning the opportunity for stand-alone real demonstrations where time and facilities permit.

Each solution will have its own demonstration time allocated as well as a workshop facility for discussing their needs with TeamAware integrated system providers. Each solution provider has been contacted to establish their infrastructure requirements and for their initial thoughts on how they would like to conduct the demonstration.

This will be the first opportunity for end users to meet face-to-face with technical partners who will demonstrate their progress in fulfilling the objectives of the project. Wherever possible End Users will be able to use prototype products as part of the demonstration and will be able to see solutions in action and provide feedback to the developers through a structured process of evaluation.

The event will incorporate:

• Initial End User Awareness Training on each of the solutions
• Review of the draft training manual from D13.2
• Mid-term demonstrations of the developments from work packages 3 to 6
• Mid-term demonstrations of the developments from work packages 9 to 11
• Initial evaluation and feedback of work packages 3 to 9
• Technical Partners Meetings

All solutions from the project will be demonstrated across the first 4 days incorporating a series of training, workshops and evaluation sessions to make sure that users, tech developers and integration partners all have the opportunity to speak with each other, to iron-out any issues and to physically try their systems as they currently function. The Friday is currently planned to enable system integrators to consider the initial outcomes.

The draft programme is attached to this briefing and we would encourage you to consider it in terms of your own project activities and to make sure that you use the opportunity of the whole project being together to really progress your objectives.

Will you be attending and what will you be doing if so?

We are asking the identified lead from each partner organisation to make the decision as to who will attend. This is your organisation’s opportunity to really get to grips with the project so it is you to decide. That said, we do anticipate EVERY PARTNER being represented in-person.

Initial Training for End Users

Technical partners will provide an introduction & initial training for End Users on how to operate the applications that will be used during the demonstrations. Where appropriate this will include installation of smartphone applications as required. Each partner is initially allocated approximately 30 minutes (on Monday and Tuesday morning) to provide a brief introduction and initial training on the use of applications and equipment being demonstrated, reference will be made to the draft training manual to facilitate the training.

Demonstrations

Demonstrations will be conducted in a main conference/demonstration room, these will consist of live demonstrations, presentations, and videos, depending on the current development of each solution. Wherever possible end users will be able to use prototype products as part of the demonstration.

Each demonstration has initially been allocated 90 minutes within the programme, this includes set up time (15 minutes), demonstration run time (45 minutes) and initial feedback/evaluation (30 minutes). Structured Evaluation Questionnaires and Feedback Forms will be prepared and provided to capture these ‘hot debriefs’.

Desirability, Acceptability & Prioritisation SWOT Analysis

There will be a series of workshops involving all partners to gather data on the acceptability and desirability of the proposed solutions. These workshops will also prioritise the technical and functional requirements and confirm a SWOT Analysis of the project

Initial evaluation and feedback of technical solutions

Opportunity for all partners to review the demonstrations and provide further feedback to technical partners, to inform ongoing development. This will consist of two elements:

• Open floor discussion for general feedback, questions, and observations to developers
• Prepared questionnaires and quantitative evaluation to provide targeted data to provide the analysis to support the evaluation of the products

Associated Deliverables

In addition to deliverables relating to each of the technical work packages, a further five deliverables will result from the interim demonstrations. It will help for you to be aware of these and who is leading on each one:

• D13.1 Demonstration Plan v1 – Dave Ramscar is producing this ahead of the demonstrations
• D13.2 Training & User Handbook v1 – Emma Toto has already produced a fairly well advanced version of this and will further strengthen it during the demonstrations
• D13.3 Acceptability & Desirability Assessment v1 – Nour Salih of the ETICAS Foundation is leading this with Gordon MacMillan supporting with User perspectives.
• D13.4 & D13.5 Evaluation of Individual Components Demonstrations & Report – Gordon MacMillan is leading development of these deliverables

Practical Arrangements

• As of now, you are free to book travel (flights) to Ankara to be there from Monday 28th to the afternoon of Friday 2nd December.
• We will shortly launch a registration page for the event on CMINE and will ask you to register who is coming through that. You needn’t wait for this to go ahead and make arrangements.
• The precise venue for the demonstrations will be notified shortly at which point we intend to make some general suggestions for nearby or accessible accommodation. That said, Ankara is well-provided for with taxi’s so if you choose to book accommodation now on the basis that you will be able to organise travel to-and-from the venue then please feel free to do so.
• We anticipate at least two organised evening events for you to join should you wish. Costs will be for you to bear we’re afraid but are unlikely to be any higher than you would have to spend catering anyway. Ankara is a great city to relax in so we hope you’ll take advantage of the opportunity to get to know each other
• Our logistics lead, Ben Hall( ben.hall@resilienceadvisors.eu ), will be in touch shortly and will be pleased to obtain answers to anything you can’t answer yourself.

Contact Us

Your Demonstration Team are working hard to meet and surpass expectations for the project so your engagement is really important to us! The full facilities of CMINE are being used for the project demonstrations, its events and surveys so please do take a moment to register here https://www.cmine.eu/signup. Once registered, simply request membership of the TeamAware Group and you’ll be able to see everything as it develops. For direct contact, please just email Dave Ramscar( dave.ramscar@resilienceadvisors.eu ) or any one of us.